Persephone's Imprisonment
by Blonde Songbird
Summary: One-shot. The King of the Underworld dines with his fair maiden. Please R&R :


A/N: I haven't been active here in _such _a long time. College is chaotic and insanely busy but great ) Forgive my absence, but I do hope you enjoy this one-shot!

Disclaimer: I do not own Persephone, Demeter, or Gaston Leroux's _The Phantom of the Opera_ – although they are definitely on my wish list ;)

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With her hands resting daintily in her lap, Christine sat at the table where she and Erik dined. Behind his mask, his yellow eyes watched her, as she warily began to eat the dinner he had prepared. Silence. A deafening silence filled the room, and the atmosphere was utterly solemn. It's as if they were the dining dead. The girl slowly pushed her plate away, averting her azure eyes down. Suddenly, she no longer felt hungry – not that she usually had much of an appetite anymore.

Erik rose from the table, quietly clearing away his plate before approaching her.

"Are you finished, my dear?" His voice was soft yet commanding.

"Yes, I am. Thank you, Erik." She responded in a polite tone.

"You barely touched any of your food, Christine." He remarked, his stare never leaving her fair face. "Are you sure you don't want anything else to eat?"

In his slender hands he held a bowl. Curious, she looked closer at the bowl's contents. Her demure gaze rested on a small cluster of pomegranates.

Her brows knitted together, Christine lifted her head to return Erik's stare. His gaze always made her extremely uneasy. At times, those eyes seemed to have a façade that concealed all human emotion; at other times, the emotion was so intense that the poor girl could feel herself being overpowered by it. On this particular occasion, however, it was the former.

"I'll have o-one pomegranate, thank you," She stuttered and meekly took one of the fruits, aware of his unnerving proximity.

Leaning over her, he impassively cleared away her plate. She could feel her breath hasten.

"Pomegranates are central in various stories, particularly in Greek mythology. Did you know that, Christine?" Erik inquired, his eyes suddenly shining with a new, unidentifiable quality.

"No… I didn't," She answered honestly, unsure of where this conversation was headed. "Will you tell me one of the stories, Erik?"

Lifting an eyebrow, he gently placed the silverware and plates back on the table. "Of course, my dear." He paused. "Let us go into the Louise-Philippe room."

With his hand, he motioned for Christine to follow him and, of course, she did. His hands moved with such grace that she felt she would follow them anywhere, even if they were to lead her to her doom. Taking a seat on the divan, she watched as he started a fire in the fireplace before situating himself in a chair across the room.

His eyes resting on the young ingénue, Erik began to speak, "The goddess Demeter, the goddess of grain and fertility, had a beautiful daughter named Kore. Many gods had attempted to court the fair maiden, but her mother refused their offers and gifts, hiding the girl from the other deities. One day, accompanied by nymphs, Kore was innocently picking flowers, when the god of the Underworld – Hades – reached up from his domain, grasped her ankle, and pulled her down to make her his bride."

Throughout this story, Christine had been watching the flames in the fireplace. They seemed to dance to the sound of his voice, creating an enticing performance that enraptured her completely.

"He kidnapped her?" She questioned timidly, still spellbound by the fire.

"Yes, he did. He saw her beauty – her perfect innocence – and yearned for it to be his own."

After a few, uneasy moments of silence, he continued, "Demeter was distressed. She began to search everywhere for her daughter, even giving the nymphs wings so they could search the earth more quickly. She neglected the earth, as the trees and flowers gradually died, but there was no sign of her sweet Kore anywhere. Eventually, the sun Helios, who sees everything, told her of her daughter's kidnapping. Because Zeus could no longer ignore the dying earth, he commanded that Hades return Kore to Demeter. However, before he returned Kore to her mother, Hades tricked the maiden into eating four pomegranate seeds."

At this last sentence, she tore her gaze away from the flames and was greeted by Erik's blazing eyes. "What would pomegranate seeds do to her?"

"The Fates had declared that whoever ate anything from the Underworld would be forced to remain there for all eternity."

Swallowing, she found that she could no longer hold his stare. His eyes seemed to burn more harshly than the fire beside them, whose flames she found more welcoming than the flames that smoldered beneath his gaze.

"Was she ever allowed to return to the world above?" Christine whispered, her lips suddenly very dry.

"Yes," He answered, his voice growing softer, "When Kore and Demeter were reunited, the earth flourished with life. But for four months out of every year, the girl would forever live as Hades' wife, reigning as Persephone – the Queen of the Underworld. And during those four months, Demeter mourns for her daughter, thus creating the seasons of fall and winter."

Christine's now watery eyes still focused on the flames. Was this the closest she would ever be to light? Would the sun comfort her with its warm rays ever again? She could faintly hear rustling and was suddenly aware of Erik's presence behind her.

"Are you quite sure you are finished with your dinner, my dear?"

Biting her lip, she could feel his breath against the back of her head. His cold fingers gently brushed against a blonde curl before hastily pulling away.

A pause.

"Yes, Erik. I'm quite sure."


End file.
